The Mansion's Game
by Jenovi
Summary: An AU fanfic, a few of our favorite FFVII charries are invited to the Nibelhiem Mansion. Has a storyline simmilar to "And Then There Were None", AKA: "Ten Little Indians". Might change to PG-13 later. The "Chapters" are just how I switch from one scene


Amber Evans

P.3

1/20/05

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this, only the storyline, Terralai Town, Donovan and Larasa.

Prologue

_You never know when something unexpected will come up. When something happens and you don't know it has until it's too late. Or when you think you know something, but you don't. This is what happened to the seven people who were invited to the Nibelheim Mansion 4 years ago...Remember, no matter how bad things seem, they could get worse..._

_Chapter One-The Letters_

In the cold tundra of the Great Glacier, there is a small town known as Icicle Inn. It is a quaint little town, with only a population of thirty, among that population lived a man by the name Vincent Valentine. No one knows if that is his actual name, but they couldn't care less. They just wanted to stay away from him. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, he had ebony hair that stopped near his ribs, and strangely, glowing ruby eyes. He also had a prosthetic left arm, but it was mechanical and in the shape of a claw, as well as being goldplated. Vincent normally kept to himself, and that was about it. Few people in this population wanted to be friends with him, and a lot of them accused him of being dangerous. But did he care? Of course not, they're just a bunch of ignorant fools who judge books by their covers.

"_Another day, and again, nothing exciting . . ."_ This is what Vincent was thinking as he walked home on an unusually calm day in Icicle Inn. For once, the small town was getting some much needed sunlight. "_I'd be lucky if I got some mail . . ._" As if he read Vincent's thoughts, Jonathan the mail carrier, stopped Vincent in his tracks. "Hey Vinny, guess what?" he asked as he stepped in front of Vincent. "Stop fooling around John, I never get any mail." Vincent remarked as he tried to push past the man. "Well," Jonathan grabbed Vincent's shoulder "you did!" The man beamed at Vincent as he handed him the letter. "Strange, I don't have any friends out of town, let alone relatives." Vincent said casually as he opened the letter. "Who's it from?" "Hmm, it doesn't say. But it's some sort of invitation..."

Wutai, it's big beautiful, and the people are nice. However, if you're from Midgar, it wouldn't be smart to come. After the Midgar/Wutai war, the large Japanese-stye town turned into a tourist attraction, much to the dismay of Yuffie Kirasagi, leader-to-be of Wutai. The black-haired, Materia stealing, shuriken using seventeen year old despised what her father had done to gain money. But who could blame her? The once noble town had been turned into a mess.

"Aww...Come on dad! Let me go, it sounds like such a cool place!" Yuffie begged her father. She had just finished reading an invitation to the Nibelhiem Mansion, otherwise known as the Shin-Ra Mansion. Heirs to the massive company used to stay there until their predecessor passed on or gave up his position. "No! Absolutely not! I want nothing more to do with the Shin-Ra or the whole of Midgar for that matter!" Yuffie's father yelled, obviously enraged with the idea. "But daddy..." "NO!"

_Chapter Two-The Meeting_

"Hmm, neat place you got here" commented a young-sounding male voice. "Well, good enough for those fools..." remarked another, deeper voice. "Man, you really hate them, don't you?" "Oh, trust me, they aren't the only ones I hate. Are you all prepared?" the deep voice asked. "Um, no. I'll be needing a plan if you want me to kill them." the young voice replied. "Hmph, use your imagination, I'll supply you with everything you'll need. Just make sure you knock them down one-by-one, and don't act suspicious. Got it?" "Yes sir! Now, about the payment...How much Gil do you plan on giving me?" The deeper voice replied with pride,"Everything I've got in my Shin-Ra account." "How much is that?" "Hmm...four million-odd Gil." "Holy Meteor! Are you serious!" "Do I ever lie...?"

The young man walked out of his small home. His chestnut hair swaying slightly in the breeze. He lifted his head and let his honey-colored eyes watch the clouds. Terralai was a very beautiful town. The weather was always good, the temperature perfect...Who'd ever want to leave? Donovan Matra wanted to. He was bored to death here! Sure, it's a nice place, but there's nothing to do! He walked over to his friend's house, two blocks down from his, and knocked lightly on the door. "Heya Don!" his friend Larasa greeted. "Hey, Larasa. Look here, I got this weird invite, can I come in?" he asked softly. "Sure!" the beaming girl replied, moving so Donovan could get in. After they had sat down, Larasa asked with interest: "Soooo, what about this invitation-thingy?" Donovan looked at her and gave her the letter. "Read it." he replied bluntly.

**Dear Recipient,**

**I am pleased to inform you that you are invited to a group party at the Shin-Ra/Nibelhiem Mansion within two days of recieving this message. I inform you not to bring anyone else with you, and to just bring the necessary items that you will require. I do hope to see you soon enough...**

"There's no name on it, just the address and directions to get to the Mansion..." Donovan commented. "Whoa, total weirdness! Who's the wack who could be hosting this thing?" "I don't know, but I'm going!" the young man stated with excitement. Larasa rolled her eyes. "Whatever, good luck and I'll miss you!" she hugged her friend as he walked out. "Bye Lara!" Donovan waved as he walked back to his house, wearing a smirk that was saying: "I'm outta here!"

_Chapter 3-The Mansion_

Near the edge of Nibelhiem, there is a great mansion. With two stories and a basement, and the fact that it is so large, one could easily get lost in the many corridors and rooms that lie within the huge structure. The house must be worth at least six-hundred million Gil on it's own! Add to that number the cost of all the elaborate funiture and the number seems infinite! It has a lovely mahogany color theme to it, not counting the basement of course...

Donovan appeared to be the first one who arrived at the Mansion, it didn't look like anyone else was there. He walked up the path and into the magnificent home. "Wow..." that was all Donovan could think to say as he marveled at the Mansion's interior. "Beautiful, isn't it?" asked a soft, female voice. Donovan jumped and turned to the speaker. She was sitting calmly in one of the armchairs, and looked at him with wine-colored eyes. Her long, dark brown hair was tied near the end with a red band. She smiled. "Hello, my name's Tifa Lockheart. Were you invited here as well?" Donovan blinked. "Um, yeah I was. I'm guessing you're not our host..." Tifa shook her head. "No, I'm not. You'd think the host would be here first." "Yeah, say-" Donovan was interrupted by the double-doors opening. In stepped Vincent Valentine. "Hello?" Tifa sprung up from her seat. "Vincent! You're here!" she asked joyfully. "Yes, I'm guessing that you received an invitation too?" the black-haired man asked. "Yep!" she smiled again. "And who are you, if I dare to ask?" Vincent inquired as he turned to Donovan. "Donovan Matra, I'm just about as confused as you are."

Over time, four more people arrived. Yuffie Kirasagi; a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man named Cloud Strife; a former member of the Turks, Shin-Ra's own assassination group, named Reno Nevander, who had a long flame-red ponytail and aquamarine eyes ; and a tough looking pilot with blonde hair and aqua eyes named Cid Highwind. And they all had the same question: Who is hosting this, and where is he?

They all calmly waited. Reno was chatting up the Wutaian girl named Yuffie, while Vincent and Tifa, who apparently were a couple, discussed what they thought was going on. Cid and Cloud were arguing about which division was better: The Shin-Ra Air Force, or SOLDIER. Donovan sat alone, waiting for something eventful to happen. _"Maybe Terralai wasn't so boring after all..." _he thought in regret. "Well, good to see that you all stayed in place!" commented a deep, but light-hearted voice. The guests all turned to see who was talking. At the top of the double-stairs, was a man who looked to be in about his late twenties, he had metallic silver hair that cascaded down to his knees, his glowing, cat-like jade eyes looked over the seven people calmly. "Shall the fun begin?" "Just who the heck are you?" Reno asked suspiciously. Donovan looked up at the man and smirked slightly. "My name is of no importance to you, and if you try to leave..." he snapped his fingers. With that, all the doors and windows shut and clicked to indicate that they were locked. "What the-? Hey! You can't do this!" Cloud protested. "Oh, but I can...You see, this is a survival game...In your midst there is a killer, assigned to kill you all off...Your job is to find out who the killer is before it is too late..." the man turned briskly and disappeared into one of the hallways.

_Chapter 4-The Games Begin_

It was now night, many of the guests were too frightened to go to sleep. Tifa was so afraid that she convinced Vincent to let her sleep in his room. Yuffie was horrified, yet turned down Reno's many offers for him to sleep in her room. Cloud was a little scared, so he kept his door cracked, just in case he saw anyone go by. Cid wasn't afraid at all, in fact, he wanted someone to try to kill him. He wanted to see just how good he was at fighting. Donovan was as calm as a swan on a lake, he didn't seem at all frightened by the death threat.

It was late, twelve o'clock midnight at the least, Cloud was sound asleep in his room. His door creaked a bit, Cloud stirred, but dismissed it as the wind. _"Wait, I didn't leave any windows open..." _Cloud shot up, only to have a sharp blade meet his forehead. "Ahh!" he fell down onto his bed and clutched the wound. He was about to yell for help with a series of stabs came in contact with multiple spots on his body. A cold hand clamped over his mouth to keep him from screaming. Cloud struggled, but his body soon went limp.

Morning. "AHHHHHHH!" Yuffie screamed at the top of her lungs. She had gone to wake up Cloud, but was met with a very horrifying sight. "Yuffie! What-?" Reno stopped and stared into Cloud's room. Laying on the bed was his cold, lifeless, body. There were too many stab wounds to count. The bed had been soaked with so much blood, that the once white sheets had turned a deep red. Tifa and Vincent ran over to the scene. "Dear God..." was all Tifa could whisper. Vincent simply stared at the tragedy. Donovan walked over with Cid, both of them shocked to silence. "Pity, pity, pity...Who's going to fall next?" the silver-haired man was standing at the end of the corridor. "Who are you? And why are you doing this!" a very upset Yuffie yelled. "It's all part of the game, my friend..." and he disappeared yet again.

_Chapter 5-Exploration_

No one knew what to do about Cloud Strife's body. Nor did anyone know if he had any living relatives. But one thing was for sure, they knew that this guy wasn't joking. "Whoever the hell he is, we'll find him before he gets anyone else!" Cid stated angrily. The rest nodded in agreement. "Ah, but how will you find out before tonight? He surely isn't going to wait around..." the silver-haired man was leaning against one of the walls. "I'm almost certain he shall strike again tonight..." Vincent eyed the man, he certainly looked familiar. "Please, tell us why you're doing this...Why do you want to kill us all off?" Tifa asked bitterly. "That you will find out later, if you live till later that is..." the man smirked, and snapped his fingers. "I'll let you all out, but you cannot go past the orchard or the cemetery. If you do, you might meet a few unfriendly locals..." he glared at them evily, and was gone.

They devised a plan. Reno and Yuffie were to explore the orchard, Vincent and Tifa were to look around the cemetery, and Cid and Donovan were going to examine the inside of the house. "Why were we stuck together!" Yuffie demanded. "Just because, ok, now get to finding a way outta here!" Donovan replied with equal annoyance. "Hmph." "Hey, come on babe, at least with me you'll be safe!" Reno smirked at Yuffie. Yuffie spun on her heel and went off, Reno following behind her. "I guess we're off." Vincent said as he turned towards the cemetery. "But Vinny...I don't think it'll be such a good idea to go there..." Tifa whimpered, she had a major fear of ghosts. Vincent snatched her hand. "Don't worry, ok?" "I guess it's just you an' me then kid." Cid muttered as he looked around the Mansion. "I guess so, lets get going."

_Chapter 6-The Nibelhiem Orchard_

Yuffie walked briskly through the Orchard, hoping to lose Reno, however protective he may be. "Yuffie, c'mon...Wait up!" Reno trotted to her after she had stopped. "Yuffie?" She didn't hear him, something had caught her eye. "Yu-" "Shhh! Shut-up, Turk." What she had spotted was a very large, very hungry looking, Nibel-Wolf. The massive brown canine was staring at the the two 'intruders' with murderous eyes. A cold voice came out of nowhere. "Like my pet? She hasn't eaten in weeks...And she has pups..." it stated cooly. "Huh? Wh-where are you...?" Yuffie asked, not realizing that she was clinging to the red-headed Reno. The voice didn't respond, it simply laughed. It laughed while Reno tried to fight off the wolf that was so viciously attacking his friend. And it laughed as Reno sprinted towards the house with tears in his eyes. _"I have to tell the others!"_ Was all he was thinking. That, and the fact that Yuffie Kirasagi was dead...

_Chapter 7-The Graveyard_

Tifa and Vincent had heard Yuffie's screams. They tried to get out of the Graveyard, but the gates had been locked by an unknown person. "Vincent...I'm scared..." Tifa whimpered again. "Don't worry Tifa, if anything happens, I'm here to protect you." Vincent reassured the woman. "Thanks Vince." she clung to his arm and snuggled against it, smiling. Vincent looked down at her and smiled slightly as well. His smile didn't last long though, after all, could you smile when your chest feels like it's on fire? Vincent doubled over in pain, trying with all his might to hold back the coughing fit that was ravaging his lungs. "Vincent! Vincent, can you hear me!" No, he couldn't hear her, not while he was coughing up blood, or when he passed out from all the pain...

Tifa rammed the fence repeatedly, but with no avail. _"Maybe Vincent has something useful."_ Tifa sat down next to the prone man and looked through his coat. Suprisingly, she found a very nicely crafted gun. On the holster, the words 'Death Penalty' were engraved on the leather. "This should work..." Tifa had never used a gun, but she tried. She aimed at the lock, and fired. The old item shattered instantly. "Yes!" she put the gun back in it's holster and picked up Vincent. "Oof! Vince, you're heavy!" she smiled a little and started the way back to the Mansion.

_Chapter 8-The Basement_

Cid and Donovan walked around the Mansion. They stumbled upon the Library. "Hm, maybe one of these books could tell us what's going on!" Donovan said expectantly. "I doubt it...These dustly ol' things look a million years old...I don't think anyone's read these in a while..." Cid replied bluntly as he took a large science book off the shelf. To both of their suprise, the bookcase swung open to reveal a set of spiral stairs. "I knew this place had a basement..." Donovan muttered. "But why hide it?" Cid asked quietly. "Should we go? We were assigned to explore the Mansion...All of it..." Donovan didn't wait for Cid to answer, he headed down the stairs.

"You know," Cid said as the walked down the long flight of stairs. "I'm starting to think that Valentine guy is the one who killed Cloud..." "Why would you think that?" "Well, look at him. He's a freak. And with that claw, I wouldn't be suprised if he used it to stab the poor kid." "Those wounds were made by a knife, or some sort of dagger." Cid stopped mid-step. "How did you know that?" "I work with weapons in my hometown." Donovan replied calmly as he kept walking. Cid started to walk again as well.

The Basement smelled of death and decay, not a very plesant combination..."Ugh, this place reaks...What died?" Donovan asked half to himself as he held his sweater sleave to his face. "Gah, I don't care, but maybe we shouldn't have come down here..." "Oh, right you are Mr.Highwind..." it was the silver-haired man's voice, but it was coming out of nowhere. A small key fell to the floor. "Eh?" Cid picked up the key. "Where-?" "Over there." Donovan pointed to a locked room. "Right." Cid placed the key in the keyhole and turned. The large door opened with a resounding click. Donovan walked in first, and wasn't at all suprised to see the silver-haired man standing atop a strange-looking statue. "You guys shouldn't be down here..." he whispered hoarsely. "Just what do you think you're doing! Why won't you just go away and let us be!" Cid wanted answers, and he wanted them now! "I already told you to get out..." the man muttered, hardly audiable. "Not until you answer me!" Cid demanded. "You'll regret this terribly..." the man disappeared into thin air. "Whoa...Wait a sec, how'd he do that...?" A growl, no, a snarl..."What the?" Donovan turned around as Cid gaped at the creature. It was at least seven feet tall, it looked like a cross between a human and some sort of spikeless Dragon. It had two brightly glowing red eyes, that countered with it's brilliantly white teeth. It's solid black body was nearly invisible in the darkness. It stood on two feet, it's 5 foot long tail whipping around in all directions. It stretched and folded it's huge wings and snarled again. "WhWhat is that thing?" Cid was in shock, he had never seen something so demonic in his life. Donovan, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. "Well, well, well...If it isn't Chaos..." Donovan muttered quietly. "Who?" Cid asked franticly. "Chaos, he was a failed 'living weapon' expieriment in the Shin-Ra Science Department..." "Ah...You're kidding me, right?" "Nope...He's a living, breathing, weapon of mass destruction..." Donovan replied emotionlessly. "Why's he down here?" "I have no idea...I guess we'll have to fight-" Donovan couldn't finish his sentence. Chaos had lunged at poor Cid who was failing at getting the huge killer off of himself. He took his Venus Gospel, a special spear, out of it's case behind him. "Get off of me!" he yelled haplessly. Donovan sneaked behind the two fighters and ran up the stairs. Cid managed to get Chaos off of him long enough to plunge the Venus Gospel into the monster's side. Chaos roared in pain, but it lowered to a soft whimper after a moment. Cid ran up the stairs after Donovan, even with the multiple injuries he had suffered.

They both finally got into the living room, panting and exausted, they both passed out on the couch.

_Chapter 9-The Reunion_

Reno made it up to the gates the same time Tifa did. "Reno, where's Yuffie? What's wrong?" she asked softly. "Y-Yuffie...She's..." Reno broke down in tears. after all, he saw it happen right before his eyes. "She's what? Reno...?" Tifa sat Vincent down, who was still out cold. "S-she's...She's dead! A Nibel-Wolf tore her to shreds!" he collapsed in Tifa's arms, sobbing over his friend's death. "Oh...Reno..." Tifa cried a little too. The news of another one of her friends dying was quite upseting. Vincent stirred and sat up, spotting his two friends crying concerned him. "Guys, what's wrong...?" "Yuffie got killed by a N.Wolf..." Tifa said between sobs. "Oh, dear Gaia..." Vincent put his arms around the two. Seeing Tifa like this upset him greatly, and Reno was only about 19, his possible girlfriend dying right before his eyes must've been a horror to the poor kid. After the two had calmed down, Vincent released them and the trio walked inside.

Once they were in, Vincent noticed Cid and Donovan fast asleep on the couch. Cid had multiple scratches and brusies, plus one large gash across his chest. "Guys, you ok?" Tifa asked timidly. Cid's eyes fluttered open. "Huh, oh. Yeah, we just got attacked by a phycho-demon down in the basement...That's all..." the pilot said between yawns. "A demon? Have you gone mad?" Vincent asked curiously. "No really, we did." Donovan added, he had just woken up from his nap. "Say, where's that Wutai girl?" Cid wondered aloud. Reno sobbed a little at Yuffie's mentioning. "Ms.Kirasagi, I'm afraid, has perished." came an all-too-familiar voice from nowhere. "Damnit!" "Aw, man..." Donovan got up and walked over to Reno. "Don't worry, ok? I know how you feel bro." Reno smiled a little, no one had ever been this kind to him. "Thanks...Bro." Donovan smiled. "Well, it's nearly eleven o'clock, what are we going to do about the night...?"


End file.
